Someday You Will Find Me Across the Universe
by ArtImitatesSex
Summary: What's the real reason behind why Simon chose Serenity to transport himself and River? R&R Please.
1. Default Chapter

Someday You Will Find Me

Across the Universe

A man, at least twenty-two years old walked into a small café. He had been coming here for years. It was his sister's favorite place. Everyone knew him there and they treated him like gold.

His father said that this place was for trash. Lower society folk. Though, he still went there. He liked it. The food was tasty and fresh and the company was pleasant. It didn't matter to him that the café was in a less sophisticated part of Capital City.

A younger girl followed in behind him. Looking to be about fourteen years old. She had long brown hair that matched her brothers. They took their usual seats, toward the back. A thin, older woman stood before them.

"Dr. Tam! River! Well, we haven't seen you kids for a while. Been busy?" She asked. Her voice was high-pitched and her nametag said 'Emily'.

"Good morning, Emily. Actually I've been extremely busy at the hospital. River has been-" Simon looked over at River as she stuck her tongue out at him. Meaning, that she could do some of the talking as well. Simon smiled shyly and River continued.

"I'm actually leaving next week for an Academy. One of the best in the Core planets. Simon and I are celebrating." River finished with an excited smile.

"Well, that just sounds great. Congratulations!" Emily said happily, giving River a pat on her shoulder.

"Are you two just gonna have your usuals?" Emily asked. Both Simon and River nodded. Emily took their menus off the table and left to tell the cook. When she was out of sight, Simon leaned across the table to talk to his sister.

"So, what do you want to do after this?" Simon asked River. He took off his nice, black pea coat and set it next to him on his seat. Underneath he was wearing a nice red and black vest over a white collared shirt. River tried to be sly about her next suggestion.

"I think we should…go into town…and…hang out with hooligans!" She tried her best to smile brightly at him, hoping to win him over with affection. She peered closely at Simon; he rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't you think that's a bit dangerous? People there can get pretty…scary…" Simon said calmingly. Though, he wasn't very convincing. River scoffed.

"You just don't know how to have any fun…"River said with a sudden burst of laughter. Simon couldn't help but crack a smile at his sister.

"Fine." He said. Finally giving in. "We'll go into town. But just for a little while. If mom and dad found out you were around those types of people…I don't know. I think their heads would explode." Simon said with a laugh. Emily came back with their drinks. A glad of wine for Simon, and protein milk for River.

"Thanks." Both River and Simon said to her. Emily walked over to get orders from another table. Simon turned back to River and noticed her looking over his shoulder at someone or something. He turned and saw a women and man walking into the diner. The man seemed like a hooligan. The kind that his sister was so eager to hang out with. He wore a brown trench coat and a red shirt underneath, with suspenders. A gun strapped to the side of his leg. Simon heard stories of what Independent soldiers looked like. You could always pick them out of the crowd because they always wore brown coats. Seeing the man, Simon took a sudden intake of breath. He felt a little scared on the inside.


	2. Serenity's Tragedys

The women seemed younger than the man she was with. To Simon, she seemed to be about twenty years old, the man looked to be in his early thirty's. She wore a bright pink, long sleeve shirt and what looked like a mechanics uniform. She had the sleeves wrapped around her waist, so the rest hung loosely over his hips.

They walked through the isles and took a seat at a booth toward the back. It just happened to be beside Simon and River's. The man looked around the café, he was uncomfortable.

Simon looked over at his sister, who was still looking over his shoulder. She could see the back of the women head and the man was facing her. Though, he didn't seem to notice her staring.

"River! Don't stare." Simon quietly scolded his sister. She smiled shyly and looked at her drink. Mindlessly moving her straw around. She suddenly seemed very sad and closed off. Simon tried his best to give her his attention, but in the back of his mind, he could here the two behind him conversing.

"I'm going to miss this place. You always get to see strange…new people…" River said softly. Almost as if she wasn't talking to Simon.

"Don't worry, _mei mei_, you'll get to meet new people at the Academy. Plus, we can always come here when you visit. It will be like you never left." Simon said with a reassuring smile. River looked back at her drink like it was a mystery as Simon listened to women behind him laugh at something the man said. Her laughter invaded his ears. He watched as River stood up.

"I have to use the restroom." She said simply, without much emotion. She left in the direction of the bathroom. Simon then turned his attentions to the conversation in the booth behind him. He heard the man speak first, in a deep, husky voice.

"Just hurry up and eat." He said. Then, Simon heard the women speak. Her voice was happy and enthusiastic.

"Don't be silly, Cap'n. You shouldn't be so stressed out." She said. Simon concluded that the man was a Captain of a ship. Simon wondered where the women played out on his crew.

"Well, it's bad enough somethin's wrong with my boat…but I had to land here. In Capitol City. A place crawlin' with Feds. The sooner we get off this rock, the better." Simon thought that this conversation was just getting interesting.

"Then where to?" The women asked.

"Well…we gotta make a stop in Whitefall. Then…wherever the black takes us…_if_ you can get that damn engine workin' again." He said to her. The girl made a small laughing sound.

"Well…no need to worry. I sent Jayne and Wash to buy the catalyzer. If all goes well, by the time we're back on Serenity, they'll have it." Simon smiled. She was the mechanic. He thought it extraordinary, she seemed so young and full of spunk.

"You sent Jayne and Wash? Together? Are you out of your gorram mind? Jayne will end up killin' every living person in that junk yard!" The Captain said loudly.

"I know, but Zoë went to buy food and to get us a job." She said. She sounded so innocent; Simon wanted to defend her case. Even though, he didn't really know her case.

"Gorramit, Kaylee. Okay…you stay here. Ima go find Jayne and Wash and make sure they haven't started killin' no one. Don't go anywhere. Got it?" He asked, and then left the café in a hurry.


	3. Credits are hard to come by

Simon watched him rush out of the building. It got quiet at the table behind him. Then, he heard her curse quietly in Mandarin.

He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find her turned around in her seat and facing him.

"Hi. Uh…do you have a credit?" She asked with an honest smile. Simon was so shocked that he couldn't respond the way his mind really wanted him to.

"Excuse me?" He asked. He sounded cockier than he had planned, but he was stunned.

"Well, see, there's this nice strawberry pie slice that I wanna get, but I'm a credit short. So…I was…just-"

"Oh! Okay…yeah…I've got one…" Simon spoke in a rush and reached into his pants pocket and pulled out one credit. He handed to her and a brilliant smile reached her face. She lifted her other hand over the booth and offered it to Simon.

"I'm Kaylee." She said with her smile still plastered on her face. Her eyes glistened and reflected the sunlight.

"Simon" He said simply. Shaking her hand, and reveling in the feel of her fingers.

"Well, Mr. Simon…Thanks for giving me a credit." She said. Simon was utterly fascinated with her. He could see a streak of black against the bone of her jaw. Since she was a mechanic, she figured it was from an engine of some sort. He didn't know much about mechanics.

River came back from the bathroom and sat down at her spot, just after Kaylee had turned around and sat back in her own seat. Simon had a goofy smile on his face.

"What are you smiling about?" She asked. Simon giggled a bit and shook his head at his sister. Emily came with their food and set it down in front of them.

"Thanks, Emily." Simon said. Emily smiled at the both of them.

"You're very welcome, Dr. Tam. River, good luck at the Academy." Emily said as she walked over to Kaylee's table to get her order. Simon listened to her order.

"Can I get a slice of Strawberry pie? Oh! With extra Strawberries!" She said. Emily nodded and left.


	4. Light Up, I'm talking

Simon felt another tap on his shoulder. He turned and was faced with Kaylee once again.

"Did she say you were a doctor?" Kaylee asked. Simon smiled a bit.

"Yes. Why, is something wrong?" Simon asked. The constant doctor in him suddenly getting concerned.

"Oh…well…no. I've just never met a doctor before. We don't got one on the ship so…" Kaylee trailed off. She didn't notice River looking at her. Simon's brain started ticking.

"Kaylee…would you like to join us?" Simon asked. Kaylee gaped at him for a moment until coming up with a response.

"Really?" She asked. Simon nodded and Kaylee's smile grew as big as the planet.

"Well, that sounds shiny." She said. She stood up and Simon scooted closer to River to make room for Kaylee. Kaylee sat at the end of the table.

"Thanks." She said. Simon smiled and glanced at River, who was eating her meal.

"Oh…Kaylee…this is my sister, River." He introduced. Kaylee waved over to River who waved back. Simon started to eat his meal a bit, then turned to Kaylee.

"So…you're a crewman for a ship?" Simon asked. He was so intrigued by this girl, he wanted to learn everything.

"I guess you could say that…" Kaylee started. "…I'm just the mechanic. I keep her runnin' is all. The rest of the bunch are the ones you do the work." Kaylee finished. Emily arrived with Kaylee's pie and set it down in front of her. She smiled to see that Kaylee had joined the Tams. Kaylee squealed when she saw the pie and said a quick 'thank you' to Emily.

"Shiny!" She said as she took the first bit. Simon and River smiled at each other and ate more of their own meals.

"You seem a little young to be a mechanic." Simon said to her after a few minutes. She looked up at him with a playful look on her face.

"Well…aren't you a bit young to be a doctor?" Kaylee said, sending a smile over to Simon. He got shy suddenly and looked at the table. He blushed. He didn't know if it was really a compliment, but he took it as one.

"So…is your Captain always in such a bad mood?" Simon asked as politely as he could. Kaylee looked up from her pie, surprised.

"Who? Mal? Well…he's just stressed out 'cause we're on a Core planet. He fought for the Independence so…he gets a little twitchy when he's around Alliance Feds." Kaylee explained. Simon noted that he had been right about Mal, he was a brown coat. River looked over at Kaylee.

"You like strawberries." She stated simply. Gaining an odd look from Simon, but Kaylee just started talking.

"Oh God…I love them. They're my favorite. Don't see much of them when we're out in space. But once we touch down on a planet, they're all I can eat." Kaylee said, biting into another one.

"So…what kind of ship is it?" Simon asked her. He didn't know anything about ships, but he was interested to learn as much about this girl as he could, with the little time they had together.

"Oh…it's a Firefly class. Name's Serenity. She doesn't look like much, but she'll fool ya from time to time." Kaylee said with a sweet smile plastered on her face. She always got this way when she was talking about Serenity.


	5. Swift Exits

Just then, Mal took the opportunity to find Kaylee. He stood at the head of the table, looking at Kaylee. He had a smidge of blood on the corner of his lips.

"Kaylee, we got the part. Let's fly." Mal said, impatiently. It was obvious he wasn't going to wait for her to finish her pie. Simon and River kept looking between the two. Simon didn't want Kaylee to leave.

"Cap'n, what happened? Didja run into trouble?" She asked. She stood up and took a good, longing look at Simon. He returned it in full.

"This ain't the time for explanations. Let's go." Mal said as he turned around to start walking away.

"But Mal- I'm not done with my-" Kaylee began to say, but Mal turned around and cut her off.

"Kaywinnit Lee Frye, get on Serenity and fix her, so we can get off this planet." Mal shouted before he turned and left. Kaylee turned to Simon with an apologetic look on her face. Simon tried to smile at her, but he was really sad that she had to go.

"It was really nice meeting you, Simon. And you too, River. Remember, if you gotta get anywhere in the 'verse, Serenity's your best bet." She said as she leaned across the booth seat and kissed Simon on the cheek. Close to his mouth, he made note of. When she pulled away, the area seemed cold. She took off a black and pink beaded bracelet from her wrist and put it on his.

Then she took off. Simon watched her as she exited the café. Mal was waiting for her outside. She took one last good look at Simon through the window before going back to catching up with Mal. He was walking off toward the docks.

Simon looked at the bracelet on his wrist and then up at River. She looked deep in thought.

"She has a funny name." River said. Simon smiled and thought of her own smile over and over again. Then he thought of her 'funny' name. Kaywinnit.


	6. Since I found Serenity

Three Years Later:

Simon Tam walked through the crowded streets of Persephone. He looked thought each of the ship directories. Looking at their destination. Looking at their appearance. He looked away from the monitors, to the large metal case next to him. Checking the blinking lights. Then going back to the directory.

He scanned the ships names and the names of their captains. Then, his eyes caught a name he hadn't heard in years. His brain pulled up a picture of a woman. He looked again at the screen and saw the name. Serenity – Captain Malcolm Reynolds.

He racked his brain for her name. Kaywinnit. Kaylee. He smiled and looked at his wrist. He small black and pink bracelet was around it. The bracelet she had given him in a rush to catch up with her Captain. A memento.

A looked along the rows of ships and a bit to his left he saw her.

Sitting on a fold out chair, holding a rainbow parasol in her hands. Her hair in two small buns. Her jumpsuit, the same one she wore the day they met, was completely on. She had a blue silk shirt over it though.

She looked like she hadn't aged a bit. She was scanning the crowd, while also reading a pamphlet that was on her lap.

Simon smiled to himself. He out his round, red sunglasses on and carted his cargo along with him, over to the front entrance of Serenity.

It took Kaylee a few minutes to realize someone was standing in front of her and she looked up. Shielding her eyes from the rays of the sun.

"Ya lookin' for a place to go?" She asked Simon. He noted that she didn't recognize him. He took off his sunglasses.

"Yes. But I'm not sure I know where just yet." He said out loud. He frowned a bit at Kaylee, but she just smiled back.

"Well, Serenity here can get ya anywhere in the 'verse that yer lookin' to go…" Kaylee said as she stood up from her chair. She stood in front of him, shorter then Simon. "…You and yer cargo. If ya can pay." She added. No point in taking on passengers that couldn't afford it.

"Good. Very good." Simon said, mostly to himself. He lifted his jacket sleeve and took off the bracelet.

"Not only can I play…but I have this as well." He said, handing it to her. Kaylee examined it for a second before her head shot up to look at Simon. Eyes wide, she finally recognized him. Her mouth gaping open, trying to get words out.

"I'll be damned…Simon?" She asked with an ecstatic smile. She squealed and jumped into his arms. He laughed and hugged her back. She let go of the hug and just looked up at him for a little while. Then she sincerely smiled up at him. Simon took a mental photograph of that innocent smile.

"Welcome aboard Serenity…" She said to him, a smiled plastered on her face.

The End


End file.
